TuffTorq K46 Repair Guide with Pictures

[deane1935]

I repaired an lt160 with a k46c and the narrow part of the wedge was up looking down on it with the cover off....I guess it is whether the forward pedal pushes or pulls on the linkage.:confused2:
Looking at the parts catalog here http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com.deere.u90490.partscatalog.view.servlets.HomePageServlet_Alt it looks like if the pedal pushes back ie:l118,l130 that the wide part of wedge goes up to case cover. If the pedal pulls to the front then the thin part of wedge goes up to case cover. I have rebuilt a l118, l130, and a lt160 and this is what I found out.

 

[xSpeedFreakx]

thank you LotsofGreenGrass for your detailed write up and all the useful information in this thread. My 10 year old, 202 hours John Deere L120 has been struggling since June of this year to go full speed and climb hills after it got warmed up for a few minutes during mowing. Before I found this thread I thought maybe the belt was worn so I replaced that back in June, but at the next use realized that wasn't the fix. So then ran across this thread and replaced the oil, pump, motor and filter per LotsofGreenGrass's suggestions and now it runs better than ever.
THANKS! :thumbsup:

 

[mswalk01]

My name is Michael and I have a John Deere L120 with 614 hours on it and I am suffering from K46AC failure. Because I have a back up mower, I haven't really been stressed out that much about the L120 going down but it is a problem. Over the last month I have taken the time to read through this thread and a few others discussing this failure. Because of all the useful knowledge I was confident enough to remove the transmission from the mower and crack open the case. I found that the center case and the cylinder block kit/ cylinder Block (pump) kit had a lot of wear on the contacting surfaces. I found that to be normal wear, I just felt that 614 hours was a little shy of the desired finish line just like everyone else who has had this failure from 50 hours on. So... now I will get to the juicy part I know that I can order parts from TT and likely fix this issue with no problem but instead of doing that I decided to try a free alternative. A friend of mine had a K46CR laying around that he decided he didn't need for anything. After doing some research I discovered that this was a locking hub and both wheels turned the same even when making turns. Additionally I measured the axles to discover that the CR axles were shorter than the AC axles. This was no surprise. Finally I decided that I had read enough and looked at enough pictures. I drained the fluid and cracked open the case. Changing the hub and axles from the AC to the CR was very simple. Once that was complete I gave a thorough inspection to anything that was visible and discovered that the motor housing (wedge) was not in the correct orientation, on the AC the wide end was at the top and on the CR the thin end was at the top. Noticing that brought me back to the computer to check and recheck how the orientation was supposed to be and why. When I was comfortable with what I read I went back out to the garage and oriented the wedge the way I believed it was supposed to be. Finding nothing else out of place I opened the new tube of permatex and followed the instructions. The next day I came out to the garage to finish the project and install it into the tractor. Using the correct synthetic oil I filled the tranny. After filling it up, I used a high speed corded drill, a 1" socket and a 12 extension and tried to work some of the air out of the system. Within an hour I had it bolted back up, tires on and running at low idle on jack stands working the controls trying to make sure that all of the air had been purged. Everything looked and sounded great... until... I took the tractor down from the stands and drove it out of the garage. I went about half way down the driveway when I thought to myself forward speed just isn't what I thought it should be... so I stopped and was going to back up the driveway and when I pressed that reverse pedal it liked to have smoked the tires... That's right forward speed in reverse and reverse speed in forward... That brings me to my questions. Is there something inside that tranny that I can change to make forward speed be in forward direction? or Should I re- orient the wedge and use the controls backwards? The correct answer is that I should stop meddling and order the parts from TT but I am the only one that rides my tractors and I don't see that changing. Is there any reason that working the pedals opposite of what they were intended to be would cause harm or damage? I am hoping that there is a simple change I can make to the insides to get the speed back in the direction it needs to be in. Thank you all in advance for all of your helpful posts and thoughts.

Original
46AC0243966

New
46CR0015759

 

[jerrywh]

Hi

You need to see this thread, which shows you are not alone!

Jerry W, who also has transmission trouble and is looking to see how to fix it

 

[deane1935]

Which way is the wedge now, thin up or fat up? It still looks like if the forward pedal pushes back then the thin part of the wedge goes toward the cover. A l120 pushes the rod back when forward is pressed so the fat goes toward the cover.. IMO

 

[mswalk01]

I believe that I have placed the wedge correctly because the forward pedal actually moves the tractor forward and like wise for reverse. The problem is that the speed that is supposed to be associated with forward is now associated with reverse. Hence reverse is faster than forward.

 

[deane1935]

The only difference I see between the k46ac and k46cr is #62 1A646031700 ETC DIFF COMP . It could be backward, especially if you changed the wedge orientation, juat a thought..

 

[mswalk01]

After about 2 hours of careful examination, I noticed that the levers between the two ( K46AC and K46CR ) were slightly different. With no desire to drop the tranny again I was looking for anything that may have been assembled incorrectly or binding the controls. This is what I found and I am going to try switching them out to see if there is any difference. K46AC on the left and K46CR on the right.

 

[mswalk01]

Alright, It took me about an hour and a half to get the pin out of the old lever and install the new old lever but it's done now. I feel that the lever wasn't the true issue but once I got the tire back on and rode it around for a bit, it is better. I believe the true issue lay in the differences between the two center cases. After talking to TT I found out that the center case from the K46AC and the center case from the K46CR are not inter changeable. Each one is (apparently) designed for a specific brand and or model of tractor, thus meeting different needs although they are visibly similar to the casual looker. Once again, thank everyone for the input.

 

[vmaxman]

I'm in the middle of a k46 rebuild. I purchased the additional parts required to convert it to a k57. Does anyone have detailed instructions on how to install these parts. I've seen the parts diagrams on the tuff torque website but I'm still a bit unsure of how the charge pump goes together. I've been searching the net but can't seem to find this info.

Thanks,

Mike